1.
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to implements for manipulating and carrying fire logs or the like, and more particularly to an implement for handling and carrying articles such as fire logs wherein the weight of the lifted article retains the jaws in a relatively closed relation about the article, even though the actuating lever is released, through the use of a broken back linkage located at the load end of the implement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A fire fueled by solid fuels such as coal or wood frequently requires attention. Hot clinkers or other incombustable materials need to be removed from the fireplace or furnace so that they do not interfere with the burning of the remaining fuel. Also as the fire burns, rearrangement of the burning materials becomes necessary in order to ensure burning of unlit portions of the fuel, or to regulate the rate of combustion. Addition of fresh fuel requires careful placement to ensure its ignition while not extinguishing the existing fire.
Each of these operations requires either the manipulating and carrying of fiery materials or the placing of fresh fuel into a fiery environment.
Tongs suitable for performing these operations, such as disclosed in Hyatt U.S. Pat. No. 1,630,013 are old in the art and generally comprise a long handle with pivotally connected, opposed jaws at one end and actuating means at the other end. The jaws remain clenched as long as the actuating means are gripped, but loosen as soon as the pressure on the actuating means is relaxed or released. Such devices are dangerous and inconvenient in that loosening the pressure on the actuating means may cause the object in the jaws to slip or fall, with the attendant risk of fire or burns to the operator and to the nearby furnishings.
In addition, such devices are relatively strenuous to use in that the pressure required on the actuating means to hold the jaws closed about the load generally increases as the weight of the load increases. This results in fatigue to the operator when carrying heavy objects in the tongs, and increased danger that the operator's grip on the actuating means may weaken, thereby causing the object in the jaws to fall.